I know very little about photography, but no camera is going to stop the sun reflecting off of people's t-shirts. You could get your subjects to wear those cone things they put on dogs after surgery to stop the reflections though.

A high ISO isn't going to make any difference as far as I'm aware... in bright light you want to be using the lowest ISO, and even then you'll probably have to squeeze your light hole to stop excessive light coming in.

The only thing I can assume would help when shooting in bright sunlight would be a decent lens, that should minimise lens flares and the like. So yeah, there might be certain cameras with fancy settings and gimmicky features that are geared towards shooting in bright sunlight, but decent lenses are probably the way to go over a fancy camera.

One thing you could do is get your subject to face away from the sun so the clothing isn't reflecting on the face. Then just make sure the sun isn;t in the frame and use a powerful flash to make sure they're lit sufficiently due to the shadow their body will cast on the portion of them facing away from the camera.

That could all be nonsense, I'm just guessing... but I think most of it is nearly right!

Gain and ISO are reasonably similar. I most cases, these are all things that you want when it comes to shooting in dark conditions. SO forget about ISO and gain.

What's wrong with your videos apart from the colour of people's clothes reflecting on their faces? (That's an issue between the sun, the light it emits, the clothes people are wearing and the current status of the weather/atmosphere... all things that your camera isn't equipped to alter.) If people know what specific issues you're having, then they'll be in a better position to advise.

Have you tried using ND filters? They'll block out a chunk of sunlight before it even reaches the lens, so you're not forced to tighten your pipe, and all that jazz.

Gain and ISO are reasonably similar. I most cases, these are all things that you want when it comes to shooting in dark conditions. SO forget about ISO and gain.

What's wrong with your videos apart from the colour of people's clothes reflecting on their faces? (That's an issue between the sun, the light it emits, the clothes people are wearing and the current status of the weather/atmosphere... all things that your camera isn't equipped to alter.) If people know what specific issues you're having, then they'll be in a better position to advise.

Have you tried using ND filters? They'll block out a chunk of sunlight before it even reaches the lens, so you're not forced to tighten your pipe, and all that jazz.

You'll be wanting to use the lowest iso as possible, and a polarizing filter will help with the reflections. If it's too bright toss on a couple Neutral Density filters and you'd have a good start, then focus on the lens.

High ISO means more grain ... though there was a topic a few years back that a slight increase in ISO gave crisper photos, I wouldn't suggest ruining a set of shots to test that theory. ISO is like ... the inverse to light. The brighter the lighting, the lower ISO. The dimmer, the higher.

Honestly not sure where you heard that high ISO would help with that but, they were wrong. Maybe see if there are some basic photography courses at the local college or at the very least do some online training. A sound knowledge of photography mechanics is handy, even for a hobbyist.

But how do you define "working well in bright sunlight" though? If people know exactly what it is that you're not happy with (or what it is you're looking to achieve) then they should be able to advise whether a different camera will help, whether different settings on that camera will help, a different lens, a different filter or whether there's not really much you can do.

I mean... are you getting lots of lens flares, are your images overexposed, blown out, lacking contrast, too much contrast, too dark, too much grain, too much noise, the colours are all wrong etc etc?

Also, what settings do you use... do you shoot on auto or do you use full manual controls? Have you played with the shutter speed, stopping down the lens, playing with white balance etc?

I think the op is probably struggling with contrast. ND filters don't help much with that. It doesn't help that the op hasn't told us what the actual problem is.

I think you've nailed it. There's a reason most of us avoid shooting at noon. However many stops of dynamic range your camera may capture, at midday it's probably not enough. The highlights are too bright and the shadows are too dark, so you lose detail at one end or the other or likely both. And even if the camera can capture it, the data format you use may be too limited.

Noon is a good time to take a nap, not so much to shoot stills or video. Especially in bright, sunny places.

I think the op is probably struggling with contrast. ND filters don't help much with that. It doesn't help that the op hasn't told us what the actual problem is.

I think you've nailed it. There's a reason most of us avoid shooting at noon. However many stops of dynamic range your camera may capture, at midday it's probably not enough. The highlights are too bright and the shadows are too dark, so you lose detail at one end or the other or likely both. And even if the camera can capture it, the data format you use may be too limited.

Noon is a good time to take a nap, not so much to shoot stills or video. Especially in bright, sunny places.

Move to the North of England, the usual problem here is not enough light at any time of day !!!!

Which camera will give me the best quality video in bright sunlight? What specs can I look for in a camera that can identify which camera will give me the best quality video in bright sunlight?

Thankyou

You've rephrased the question enough, but you've still not provided enough information to explain what it is you're looking for. What you need to do is explain exactly what it is that you're not satisfied with. And please don't say that you're just not satisfied with their performance in bright light. You need to say exactly what it is, specifically, that you're not happy with.

Lets try putting it another way. The problem which you originally said you had is due to the way light is reflected. Bright light will make brighter reflections. Coloured surfaces will give coloured reflections. There is no easy "in camera" fix for the colour or amount of reflection apart from trying to take your videos at times and locations with more diffuse light.

Very bright sunlight is also difficult due to blown highlights, assuming the rest of the image is correctly exposed. Again, no easy "in camera" fix.

It can all be "fixed" to a greater or lesser extent in post, but while that is relatively easy for stills it is less so, or at least more time consuming, for video.

In other words, as has already been said, different cameras, lenses, and filters, assuming you already have reasonable gear, won't help with your problem.

Honestly not sure where you heard that high ISO would help with that but, they were wrong.

Possibly from old filmography.I know that for the film Out of Africa they had great difficulty matching footage taken in contrasty light with other footage, until they had the idea of using faster film for the contrasty light, IIRC because the faster film naturally had lower contrast.

you said: "The problem which you originally said you had is due to the way light is reflected."

no, I only used that as an example of how bright the sunlight was, it was bright enough that I am getting reflections off of people's clothing onto their face.

I have 3 cameras. an fdr ax100, a P900, and a coolpixk waterproof camera. the FDR AX100 handles bright sunlight better than the P900 and the waterproof camera. the technology is different between the 3 cameras. I want to buy a camera that does a better job than the 3 cameras that I already have when filming in bright sunlight. the minimum ISO settings are similar and the video quality is vastly different.

I have gone through hundreds of cameras and am unable to determine what measure signifies its performance in bright sunlight.

can anyone recommend how to identify what to look for in a camera, specs wise, that will ensure me that the camera films better in bright sunlight?

In my opinion no matter how good the camera is you will never obtain an even exposure in bright sunlight because the sensor it is going to expose either for the bright areas in wich case your subject will be dark or if it will expose for the subject then the bright areas will be blown out. You have many options to tweak your lighting with reflectors nd filters and so on but you will not find a camera that can expose perfectly for sky and subject all at the same time and for that reasons the filters and reflectors were invented. or I might not understood your question...I generaly shoot with a dslr with neutral image setings and then tweak the footage in post

The cheapest one you can buy. I mean it. Expensive cameras and lenses are meant for low light situations. For bright sunlight you can use even your smartphone camera.

So any blockbuster movie that uses sufficient lighting to replicate bright sunlight conditions, or are actually shooting in bright sunlight conditions... they're ok to shoot on an iPhone? They only pull out the Alexas, Reds and the CineAltas when the gaffer forgets to bring the lighting setup?

Why on earth you want to shoot in bright light?Go in a shaded area, or wait for sunset or sunrise, like any other photographer

That is such a silly statement it might work for landscape photographers but not for sports or street and editorial

uhm ... I think we're all fairly capable of rolling the iso up a bit if the shutter speed or aperture requires it. The point still remains that lower ISO will collect less light given the other parameters.

Anybody who claims he has "gone through hundreds of cameras" and believes a high ISO will help him shoot in bright sunlight is either a troll or terminally hopeless.

Happy 2017, everybody!

+1000 amazing and some of the responses are even More amazing. WOW. Kinda shocking actually. Dear OP. read what Sean said and go take a class. concentrate on exposure. I had to copy this thread to show students. WOW.

Anybody who claims he has "gone through hundreds of cameras" and believes a high ISO will help him shoot in bright sunlight is either a troll or terminally hopeless.

Happy 2017, everybody!

+1000 amazing and some of the responses are even More amazing. WOW. Kinda shocking actually. Dear OP. read what Sean said and go take a class. concentrate on exposure. I had to copy this thread to show students. WOW.